Buckhead: Agreement will pave way for moving historic home

The Randolph-Lucas House, located at 2494 Peachtree Road

The Randolph Lucas House will disappear from its current Peachtree Road address, but it won’t be because of a wrecking ball.

Buckhead Heritage announced on Oct. 23 that all parties have reached an agreement that will give preservationists enough time to move the historic home to another location where it will be preserved. The agreement between Buckhead Heritage, the City of Atlanta and the 2500 Peachtree Condominiums Association, the building’s owner, recognizes that a demolition permit will be issued but grants access to assess the costs of moving and protecting the home.

“This agreement is an excellent first step toward preserving the Randolph-Lucas House in a different location,” Buckhead Heritage President Wright Mitchell said in a press release. “Buckhead Heritage commends the City of Atlanta and Lem Ward, Chief Counsel, for working with Buckhead Heritage and the 2500 Condo Association to create a procedural framework that will allow for the relocation of the house. Buckhead Heritage continues to hear from numerous individuals who are interested in moving the House to a new location and this agreement will hopefully help make that a reality.”

According to the press release, the terms of the agreement are as follows:

1. The Association will make the house available to be documented through
measured drawings and archival photographs for the purposes of memorializing the building.

2. The Association will permit whatever reasonable inspections are necessary as
coordinated by Buckhead Heritage with three (3) days prior written notice to determine the cost of relocation of the House and rehabilitation of the House once it is relocated.

3. The Association shall not begin the demolition of the House for at least 120 days after the issuance of any demolition permit and can, in its discretion, extend this period in the event it appears additional time is necessary to move the House.

4. The City agrees that to reduce the potential cost associated with the moving of the House that specific plans do not have to be filed for the City to agree that moving of the House is allowed by the City Code; provided however that prior to the moving of the House, such plans shall be filed in accord with the City Code and other applicable laws.

The Randolph-Lucas House, a mansion located at 2494 Peachtree Road, is part of the Peachtree Heights Park District, a nationally recognized historic site. Hollins Nichols Randolph, a prominent Atlanta attorney, built the red brick residence in 1924.